


The Stolen Glow

by TheEmeraldGirl23



Series: The "Glow" [3]
Category: Little Witch Academia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, F/F, Flashback, Fluff, I Love You, I'm writing a six book series will I ever know what the heck I'm doing?, Mystery, POV Third Person Omniscient, Soulmate Necklaces, Stolen Necklaces, former childhood friends, hugs and kisses
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-26
Updated: 2020-10-24
Packaged: 2021-03-07 02:33:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 10,534
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26179561
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheEmeraldGirl23/pseuds/TheEmeraldGirl23
Summary: Juliet Strongsburg hates soulmates, she’s famous for being a devious student who attempts to steal other’s necklaces, expelled from five different magic academies in five years for doing so. So what happens when the first necklace she tries to steal at Luna Nova so happens to belong to Atsuko Kagari?“Did you happen to take my necklace?” Akko asked.“No! Why would you even accuse me of doing something like that? I know how much it means to you and besides, if I wanted to see your necklace, I can just look in the mirror,” Diana said.“Then who stole it?” Akko asked.“I don’t know, but I have a sneaking suspicion who,” Diana said.“Who?” Akko asked.“Juliet Strongsburg,” Diana said.
Relationships: Barbara Parker/Lotte Yanson, Diana Cavendish/Atsuko "Akko" Kagari, Hannah England/Amanda O'Neill, Ursula Callistis | Chariot du Nord/Croix Meridies
Series: The "Glow" [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1782148
Comments: 12
Kudos: 13





	1. Strongsburg Arrives and Akko's Necklace Saves Her

**Author's Note:**

> Welcome to the third book in The "Glow" Series, The Stolen Glow, if you haven't read the previous two books, please do so before you start on this one, that way you can better understand. 
> 
> We're starting off strong with this first chapter, if you know anything about the way that I write, you know that normally my chapters are nowhere near this long, so enjoy.

Juliet Strongsburg is famous. Famous for what you ask, being devious. She’s been expelled from five magic academies in the past five years, some co-ed, some all-girls, all for one reason, attempting to steal other student’s necklaces and she’s proud of that for some ungodly reason. Luna Nova is her one of her last choices, but luckily, for her, she’s a fourth-year, which means this is her last year, but guess what she plans to do, that’s right, steal the other student’s necklaces, she hates anything and everything to do with soulmates, she would take the whole world’s necklaces and burn them if she could, but she always got caught, every time she hopes that won’t be the case, but it always turned out to be. It’s karma, it always comes back to bite someone when they least expect it. Juliet immediately wanted to go to Luna Nova when she heard that supposedly the two witches with the strongest soulmate connection went there, she wanted to break it. She walked into her dorm, met with a room with one queen bed in the middle of it, a desk to the side, a window above the back of the bed, and a bathroom off to the corner. She was the only student who was not on a team, she wore a black ribbon on her uniform, the only one in the academy that had that color. The teachers thought she needed to be separated from the rest. Juliet dealt with that as it gave her more chance to carry out her goal, she changed out of her new, pristine school uniform, hung it up and put on pajamas before flopping onto her bed, with one thought in her mind. 

_“New school, new necklaces to steal,”_

Somehow that thought comforted her and she went to sleep. 

* * *

Akko looked in the mirror, nervously fidgeting with the chain of her necklace, it was the most precious item in her possession, even more so than her Believing Heart Chariot card gifted to her by her soulmate. She never took it off, she even took it to a special necklace shop to make it waterproof so she could wear it in any condition. 

“Are you really that nervous?” Lotte asked. 

“No, it’s not that, it’s just my necklace,” Akko said. 

“What about it?” Lotte asked. 

“Yeah, is it really that important to you?” Sucy asked. 

“Sucy!” Lotte chastised. 

“What? It’s just a necklace,” Sucy said, shrugging. 

“Maybe to you, but to me, it’s a piece of me, to me it’s not ‘just a necklace’, it’s the reason I’m standing here today,” Akko said. 

“You can’t just say that and not explain,” Sucy said. 

Akko looked at the clock and then down at her necklace and then smiled. 

“I’m sorry, I have to go, I’m going to be late, maybe later,” Akko said, waving back as she ran out the door. 

Lotte and Sucy just looked at each other with confused expressions. 

“Why did she just storm off like that?” Sucy asked. 

“She probably didn’t want to talk about it, I was looking at the clock, she still had twenty minutes left,” Lotte said. 

“Twenty minutes until what?” Sucy asked. 

“She has a date today,” Lotte said. 

“No wonder she was smiling like an idiot looking at her necklace,” Sucy said. 

“I’m still wondering what she meant by her necklace being the reason she’s standing here today,” Lotte said. 

“It’s probably going to be something silly,” Sucy said. 

Lotte just shook her head and went back to her work.

* * *

Akko ran through the halls, she knew she wasn’t late, but she really didn’t want to talk about how her necklace basically saved her life right now. She saw her soulmate walk out of a classroom and ran up to her.

“Diana!” Akko called out. 

She turned around to see Akko running, but Akko was going too quickly and tripped over her own feet, face-planting on the ground right in front of her. 

“Akko? Are you alright?” Diana asked, concerned. 

She flashed a thumbs up from the ground signaling she was okay and Diana released a sigh of relief. 

“Here, give me your hand. Why were you running anyway?” Diana asked. 

Akko took the extended hand, got up, and shook the dirt off herself. 

“I ran out of the dorm because I accidentally brought up a topic I’m not particularly comfortable with telling people about at the moment,” Akko said, rubbing her arm. 

“What was it?” Diana asked. 

“My necklace,” Akko said. 

“What about your necklace?” Diana pressed. 

“Sucy asked ‘is it really that important to you?’ and I accidentally let it slip that it’s the reason I’m standing here today,” Akko said. 

“How?” Diana asked. 

Akko started fumbling over her words trying to get a grasp of what to say, she couldn’t bring herself to say it. 

“Don’t worry, you don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to,” Diana said. 

“No! I want to, I think you should know, but I’m not really comfortable with saying it here in the hallway in front of others,” Akko said. 

Diana just nodded and grabbed Akko’s wrist, before walking briskly away. 

“Wait! Where are you taking me?” Akko asked. 

All Akko got in response was a hum. 

“Just close your eyes,” Diana said. 

Akko did as she was told and felt herself mount a broom, she instinctively snaked her arms around her soulmate and pressed against her, keeping her eyes closed. Once they landed, Akko felt a hand tug her wrist again and she followed, she felt twigs snap under her feet, so she assumed they were in a forest. 

“You can open them now,” Diana said. 

Akko opened her eyes and looked around to see The Soulmate Tree and a blanket laying on the ground a few feet away from it, with a guitar case and basket sitting on top of it. 

“You did all this?” Akko asked. 

“Yeah, I thought it would be nice to spend some more time alone with you,” Diana said sheepishly. 

“I can’t say no to that, this is perfect,” Akko said, sitting down on the blanket, patting a spot next to her for Diana to sit. 

She sat down next to Akko and grabbed a sandwich from the basket. 

“So how is your necklace responsible for you sitting next to me today?” Diana asked. 

“Okay, let me start at the beginning, it all started three years ago,” Akko said. 

3 years ago, Chiba Junior High School, Japan 

“You like Shiny Chariot?” the school bully leader, Tsubasa Watanabe asked. 

“Yeah, I want to be a witch like her someday,” Akko said excitedly. 

“That is _never_ going to happen,” Ricky said, emphasizing the word never. 

“A believing heart is my magic,” Akko said, quoting Chariot’s famous catchphrase. 

“What did you say your name was again?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Kagari Atsuko, you can call me Akko and you are?” Akko asked. 

“Watanabe Tsubasa,” he said. 

“Okay, Watanabe, why am I here?” Akko asked. 

The group of bullies behind Tsubasa snickered. 

“We’re the Devils,” another bully by the name of Ito Akira said. 

“Huh? Never heard of any group that goes by the name Devils, are you guys a band or something?” Akko asked. 

“You’re saying you’ve never heard of The Chiba Junior High School Devils?” another bully, Takahashi Sasuke said. 

“I’m afraid not, I’m sorry,” Akko said, shrugging in nonchalance. 

“We’re the school’s bullies,” Tsubasa said with an air of dominance. 

“Oh!” Akko exclaimed in understanding. 

“Now do you know why you’re here?” Tsubasa asked. 

“If you’re going to bully me, Watanabe, I won’t let you,” Akko said, crossing her arms indignantly. 

“I’m afraid that’s not your choice, you’re the perfect target, you’re a runt and you like Shiny Chariot of all people, that’s priceless,” Tsubasa laughed, slapping his thigh. 

“Hey! Shiny Chariot’s amazing! You have no right to say things like that!” Akko defended. 

“Even a non-magic-user knows that Shiny Chariot’s time is long gone, she disappeared seven years ago, Kagari,” Tsubasa said. 

“Still, at least my soulmate likes her too,” Akko said. 

“Now what makes you so sure of that, Kagari?” Tsubasa asked. 

“My necklace was glowing really bright at the Chariot show I went to, my soulmate had to be there,” Akko said. 

“Really? Do you even think they’d want someone like _you_?” Tsubasa asked. 

Akko looked at him with a blank expression. 

_“Of course they would want me, they wouldn’t care what I looked like or if I was clumsy or dumb, they would like me for me, the only reason someone would reject their soulmate is if they felt stronger feelings for someone else and started feeling detached from them,”_ she thought. 

“Of course, I do!” Akko exclaimed. 

“You must think pretty highly of yourself then, you’re probably the clumsiest person in this school, and I just checked, you’re almost at the bottom of the class, 136/150,” Tsubasa mocked. 

“At least I’m not last and I might be clumsy but I still try! I can’t say for you guys but from what I’m seeing you just pick on anyone who’s different or doesn’t adhere to your standard, am I right?” Akko asked. 

The bullies were taken aback by her statement. 

“How dare you!” Sasuke yelled. 

Tsubasa turned around to face him and put a palm to his chest. 

“Calm down, Sasuke, I’ll handle this,” Tsubasa said. 

Sasuke took a deep breath, relaxed his shoulders, and nodded at his leader. Tsubasa turned back around to face his victim again, who was standing with her arms crossed in a defiant way. 

“You’re certainly going to be a handful Kagari, but I like a challenge, we don’t choose just anyone, this was an initiation and you passed, will you join us?” Tsubasa asked. 

“It would be nice to have another girl here,” a girl by the name of Nakamura Matsuri said. 

Present-day, The Soulmate Tree, a remote forest in England 

“Wait, they wanted you to join their group?” Diana asked. 

Akko stopped her story to answer the question. 

“Yeah, for some reason they liked my spunkiness and grit, they thought I would make a good addition to The Devils,” Akko said. 

“Well, what did you do?” Diana asked. 

“I was getting there, until you interrupted me,” Akko said. 

“Oh, I apologize, please continue,” Diana said. 

“Okay, back to the story,” Akko said. 

Back to 3 years ago, Chiba Junior High, Japan 

“You want me to _join_ The Devils?” Akko asked skeptically. 

“Yeah, you stood up to us, not many people do that,” Tsubasa said. 

“I’m sorry, but I refuse, I don’t want to be associated with a group of bullies, I’m better than that,” Akko said. 

“I was thinking you’d say that, is there any way to convince you?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Nope!” Akko said definitively. 

“I guess I have to force you then,” Tsubasa said. 

“You can try, but I’ll _never willingly_ join you,” Akko said. 

“I have my methods,” Tsubasa said before walking away, leading his group. 

* * *

Akko was in the courtyard playing with her Chariot cards, looking at her necklace from time to time, smiling at it. 

_“It’s really dim, they must live in a different country,”_ Akko thought. 

“Hey, Kagari, why are you smiling like such an idiot for?” Tsubasa called out. 

“What do you want, Watanabe? And how many times have I told you to call me Akko already?” Akko asked. 

“Then why don’t you call me Tsubasa, huh?” he shot back. 

“You’re not my friend, only friends call each other by their first name,” Akko said. 

“You’re not mine either, so why should I use your nickname?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Do you actually have any friends?” Akko asked, with a taunting smile. 

“Huh? Of course, I do, Akira, Sasuke, Matsuri, and Shoto are all my friends,” Tsubasa said. 

“The other members of The Devils? They seem more like your followers than your friends,” Akko said. 

“What would you know? What friends do you have?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Touche, but I bet I’ll make friends when I move to Luna Nova,” Akko said. 

“You’re really going to England, just to go to a magic school?” Tsubasa said. 

“Yeah, it’s a magic hub, unlike Japan, a lot of people are magic-users there, and plus one of The Six Great Houses is in England,” Akko said. 

“The famous magic families? Wait, the one in England is The Reinhardts, they’re not even all magic-users,” Tsubasa said. 

“And Japan doesn’t even have one, the closest one is The Fei’s in China,” Akko said. 

“I mean four of them are in Europe and only two of them are in Asia, what do you expect?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Yeah, you’re right, The Cavendish’s in Scotland, The Lefevre’s in France, The Pavlova’s in Russia, The Reinhardt’s in England, The Chavla’s in India, and The Fei’s in China,” Akko said. 

“I heard a Cavendish is going to Luna Nova too,” Tsubasa said. 

“Huh? You’re not even a magic-user, how do you know that?” Akko asked. 

“Let’s watch her be your soulmate or something,” Tsubasa said. 

“Her? What do you mean?” Akko asked. 

“Luna Nova is an all-girls school, Kagari, how do you not know that? You’re going there next year,” Tsubasa said. 

Akko remembered reading about Luna Nova being an all-girls school, but she was more entranced by the aspect of learning magic rather than the people who’d be attending with her. 

“Yeah, I remember, what makes you think a Cavendish will be my soulmate?” Akko asked. 

“Now that I think about it, it does seem too good to be true,” Tsubasa said. 

“You’re not here to bully me again or something?” Akko asked. 

“Wow! You’re _expecting_ to be bullied?” Tsubasa asked, dumbfounded. 

“The only reason you ever talk to me is to tease or make fun of me, I was surprised you actually wanted to talk,” Akko said. 

“Don’t expect it to be an everyday thing, Kagari, I just wanted to talk to someone,” Tsubasa said sheepishly. 

Akko lightly smacked his shoulder. 

“Ow! What the heck,” Tsubasa said. 

“So, I was right, The Devils aren’t your real friends,” Akko teased. 

“Don’t push it,” Tsubasa said. 

He walked away and left Akko to do her own thing. 

* * *

Akko was punched and pushed to the ground, bruises covering her face and legs, she was defenseless against Sasuke holding a knife. Tsubasa was cowering scared behind him, he was tough in the beginning, but he actually warmed up to Akko, she seemed to have the capability to bring anyone to her side. 

“No! Please don’t do this!” Tsubasa pleaded. 

“You actually warmed up to this runt?” Sasuke asked, pointing the knife towards Akko. 

“She’s really nice if you get to know her, isn’t that right, Akko?” Tsubasa asked, looking hopefully to her, actually using her nickname for the first time. 

“You called me Akko, Aww! Tsubasa, you finally consider me a friend?” Akko asked from her place on the ground with a wide smile. 

“Yes,” Tsubasa grit out through his teeth. 

He really didn’t want to admit this in front of his supposed followers. 

“You’re more gullible than I thought, Tsubasa, here I thought you were tough and unwavering, but here you are, defending the one you bullied,” Sasuke said. 

“How can you say no to that smiling face?” Tsubasa asked, looking at Akko smiling at him even in her state. 

“God Tsubasa, if you weren’t aromantic I would’ve thought you were actually in love with this girl,” Sasuke said. 

“You know, aro’s can still feel love, Sasuke, but I only ever thought of Akko as a friend, she’s really friendly, and besides if you actually knew anything about her, you’d know…” Tsubasa trailed off, not wanting to out Akko like that. 

“Know what?” Sasuke pressed. 

Tsubasa shook his head and saw Akko mouth a thank you. 

“Nothing,” Tsubasa said. 

“Okay,” Sasuke said, rolling his eyes. 

Sasuke moved closer to Akko, holding the knife to her. Tsubasa jumped in front of her and Sasuke moved back, the tip of the knife grazing Tsubasa’s shirt. 

“Tsubasa! Why?” Akko asked. 

“Move, Tsubasa,” Sasuke commanded.

“No!” Tsubasa cried out in defense. 

Sasuke shoved Tsubasa out of the way and walked forward, gripping the chain of Akko’s necklace with the edge of the knife. Meanwhile, in England, Diana could feel something was wrong, her soulmate was in trouble, even if she didn’t even know who they were. 

“No!” Diana stood up from her desk and cried out. 

“Is something wrong, Ms. Cavendish?” the teacher asked. 

“I apologize, can I please be excused? I’m not feeling well,” she fibbed. 

“Go ahead,” the teacher said. 

She walked out of the classroom and ran into the hallway. She clenched the top of her shirt with her hand, she felt tears welling up in her eyes, she didn’t wear her necklace, but she still felt how hurt her soulmate was. Back in Chiba, Sasuke moved his knife so the tip of it touched Akko’s necklace. 

“This is your special item right?” Sasuke asked. 

“Yes, my necklace is the most important thing in the world to me, until I find my soulmate that is,” Akko said. 

“Then why don’t I take it from you?” Sasuke asked. 

“No!” Akko cried out as he yanked it off her neck. 

He pushed his knife to it again. 

“How about I carve another design into it,” Sasuke threatened. 

Diana dropped to her knees in the middle of the hallway. 

“No!!!” She yelled at the top of her lungs. 

Suddenly, a circle of magic emerged from her, and Akko’s necklace created a big flash, causing Sasuke to immediately drop it to the ground. 

“Woah!” Akko and Diana exclaimed in unison with wonder. 

Akko reached over, grabbed it, and put it back on, observing the tiny crack in the bottom middle of it. 

“What the fuck was that?” Sasuke asked. 

“Did your soulmate just protect you?” Tsubasa asked, astonished. 

“How? I don’t even know them,” Akko said. 

“How much do you want to bet it’s that Cavendish girl?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Really?” Akko asked with a furrowed brow. 

“Yes, send me two hundred dollars when I win,” Tsubasa said with confidence. 

“You’re that confident?” Akko asked. 

“Yes I bet one hundred dollars that when you go to Luna Nova, you’ll find that the Cavendish girl will be your soulmate, oh and another hundred says you’ll be the one to link them, so you’ll owe me four hundred dollars,” Tsubasa said. 

“You’re on Tsubasa, but _you’re_ the one that’s going to be sending me four hundred dollars,” Akko said with determination and a smile, pointing to herself. 

“Sure, if you say so, I’ll be waiting for you to send me those four hundred dollars, no matter how long it takes, even if it takes your whole time at Luna Nova,” Tsubasa said. 

“If you’re really that confident,” Akko said. 

“I’m only confident because I’m sure I’ll win,” Tsubasa said. 

“Figures it would be someone from The Six Great Houses,” Sasuke said. 

“But Diana Cavendish? Even I think she might be a little too good for you,” Matsuri said. 

“Who is she?” Akko asked. 

“Isn’t she the ‘Cavendish girl’ Tsubasa is talking about?” Matsuri asked. 

“How do you know all this? You guys aren’t even magic-users,” Akko said. 

“At least I know members of The Six Great Houses, they’re the most powerful families in the world, magic or not, gosh, Kagari, you’re dumber than I thought,” Matsuri said. 

“Oh, I guess that makes sense. Wait, hey!” Akko said going from a thinking tone to a more annoyed one. 

“I don’t think I’m even going to try anymore if you have the likes of someone in The Six Great Houses is protecting you,” Sasuke said, shuddering in fear and walking away, hunched over in defeat. 

“Wait! Before you leave, I’m declaring that The Devils are officially disbanded!” Tsubasa yelled out. 

The rest of them just nodded and walked away. 

“Thank you, soulmate, wherever you are,” Akko whispered, kissing her necklace. 

“Remember, four hundred dollars. Diana Cavendish is your soulmate and you’re going to link your necklaces together,” Tsubasa said lowly before walking away. 

“Damn you, Tsubasa, I’m not going to lose this, I will never let you have the last say!” Akko yelled to him as she got up, dusting herself off. 

“I already have!” Tsubasa yelled back. 

Akko pouted and walked to the bathroom to clean her bruises and went to class. 

Back to Present day, The Soulmate Tree, a remote forest in England 

“I protected you,” Diana said in realization at the same time Akko said, 

“You protected me,” 

“Huh, I guess I owe Tsubasa four hundred dollars now,” Akko said with a pout. 

“I felt your pain that day, I was in class and ran out of the room, I collapsed to my knees in the hallway, I screamed at the top of my lungs, a magic circle encompassed me,” Diana said. 

“My necklace made a large flash, but you already knew that,” Akko said. 

“Interesting, I wasn’t even wearing my necklace and still felt it, I think I even felt it when you kissed your necklace,” Diana said. 

“Like you felt the sensation of me kissing you? That’s weird,” Akko said. 

“Try again,” Diana said. 

“Huh?” Akko asked with a confused expression. 

“I mean kiss your necklace again,” Diana said. 

Akko was confused by her soulmate’s intention but she did it anyway, she grabbed her necklace and pressed it to her lips. She was surprised when she saw Diana do the same thing and felt the sensation of her lips on hers. Akko let go of her necklace and scooted closer to Diana. 

“It works but I’d rather have the real thing,” Akko said. 

Diana nodded and let her necklace drop back to her chest as she leaned in and kissed the person sitting in front of her. 

“Much better,” Akko smiled against her soulmate’s lips. 

“Very much so,” Diana breathed huskily as she released her hold on Akko. 

She moved pepper kisses along the side of her jaw and then nibbled on the shell of her ear. Akko let out a pleasurable sigh and Diana hummed in affirmation as she moved to kiss Akko’s nape and collarbone. Suddenly, a phone started ringing and they both groaned in frustration as they moved away from each other. It was Akko’s, she answered it, not knowing who it was. 

“Hello?” Akko asked. 

“Is this Kagari Atsuko?” a familiar voice asked. 

“Yes, who is this?” Akko asked. 

“I’m Watanabe Tsubasa, do you not remember me?” he asked. 

“Yes, of course, I do, I was just telling my soulmate about how my necklace saved my life,” Akko said. 

“Technically, she did, unless I’m mistaken,” Tsubasa said. 

“That would mean she’s saved my life three times already,” Akko said. 

“Three? You really are clumsy, did she have to save you from falling off a broom or something? That sounds like a classic Akko blunder,” Tsubasa said. 

“Actually yes, that happened once,” Akko said. 

“Wow! I was right! You’re referring to your soulmate as ‘she’, you owe me two hundred dollars, what about the other bet?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Yes, you won both bets,” Akko conceded. 

“Hah! In your face, and you said you wouldn’t let me get the last word, guess I proved you wrong,” Tsubasa said. 

“Rub it in why don’t you,” Akko said. 

“I will take this victory, how did it happen?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Ask her yourself,” Akko said. 

“Is she with you?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Yeah, she’s next to me,” Akko said. 

Akko put the phone on speaker. 

“Hello,” Diana greeted. 

“Hey,” Tsubasa said. 

“So Akko told me that you used to bully her? But then she convinced you to join her side?” Diana asked. 

“I’m sure you of all people know how persuasive she can be,” Tsubasa said. 

“I’m very aware,” Diana said. 

“So how exactly did I win this bet?” Tsubasa asked. 

“What do you mean?” Diana asked. 

“If Akko told you the story you should also know I made a bet with her, saying that you were her soulmate and that she’d be the one to link your guy’s necklaces together,” Tsubasa said. 

“Both of those statements are correct, so I don’t understand what you mean by ‘how exactly did I win this bet?’ do you mean the process?” Diana asked. 

“Yeah, how did she link your guy’s necklaces together? When did she realize you were her soulmate?” Tsubasa said. 

“Those both happened at the same day and place, I didn’t wear my necklace before this point since my parents died, but when I showed it to Akko it was glowing really bright, I think that’s when she realized they were the same shape, mine was on the table and Akko took hers off to link it with mine and it created a big flash,” Diana said. 

“Really? How big was the flash?” Tsubasa asked. 

“According to the shopkeeper, he’s never seen a flash like it before, so it must’ve been pretty big,” Akko said. 

“This happened in a shop?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Yeah, after I found out that my professor was actually Shiny Chariot, I ran away and was sitting alone in the snow, Diana found me and took me to a shop called _Last Wednesday Society_ where she showed me that she liked Chariot as well, she gave me a card she owned, which so happened to be the one our necklaces formed,” Akko told. 

“Really? That’s surprisingly romantic, for a situation that wasn’t supposed to be as such,” Tsubasa said. 

“I mean, she…” Akko trailed off when she looked at her doing a cutting neck motion. 

“What? Akko? What aren’t you telling me?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Nothing!” Akko and Diana both shouted in unison. 

“Okay,” Tsubasa said doubtfully, dragging out the ‘a’ sound. 

“So….do you go to Chiba High now?” Akko asked. 

“Yep! Graduating this year,” Tsubasa said. 

“Huh? A year early?” Diana asked. 

“Oh, the school system works differently in Japan than in England,” Akko and Tsubasa said at the same time. 

“Yeah, primary school is six years, junior high school is three years, and high school is also three years,” Tsubasa said. 

“We have primary school for six years as well, then secondary school until year eleven, aka. sixteen, in traditional schools you can choose to further your education after that, but in Luna Nova it’s required that you complete year twelve and thirteen as well,” Diana said. 

“So high school for you starts at year ten? But you still have four years, resulting in a year thirteen?” Tsubasa asked. 

“Yeah, I find it weird as well, it’s not like say The United States or your country, where it’s only twelve,” Diana said. 

“Wait, that would mean, technically, I started a year later than the rest of you guys, but I’m still in the same year, why’s that?” Akko asked. 

“I don’t quite know the logistics of it, maybe you can ask Headmistress Holbrooke,” Diana said. 

“I guess since you transferred at the time you would be a first-year student, they put you in the same class as the others,” Tsubasa said. 

“Oh, I guess that makes sense,” Akko said. 

“It was nice to meet you, Diana, even if it was over the phone, and Akko, can you give me an estimate of when those four hundred dollars arrive?” Tsubasa asked teasingly. 

“It was nice to meet you too, Watanabe,” Diana said. 

“You can call me Tsubasa, any friend of Akko’s is a friend of mine, more so her soulmate,” Tsubasa said, with a big smile that could be heard through the phone in his tone. 

“Oh, hush, Tsubasa,” Akko said, waving him off. 

“Okay, then, Tsubasa, it was nice to meet you,” Diana said. 

“Likewise,” Tsubasa said. 

“Did you finally make a real friend?” Akko asked. 

“Yeah, his name is Nakamura Tenya,” Tsubasa said. 

“Good for you, Tsubasa, and I’ll be sure to get the money to you soon, hopefully by the end of the year, I honestly didn’t think you would win,” Akko said. 

“I’m surprised myself. Wait, how long have you been together?” Tsubasa asked. 

“A little over a year,” Akko said slowly. 

“A year!? You’re telling I could’ve gotten the money a year ago!?” Tsubasa practically yelled over the phone. 

His yelling scared the birds in the trees, causing them to squawk and fly away. 

“I kind of forgot,” Akko said nervously. 

“After two years, I don’t blame you,” Tsubasa said. 

“I was just recalling the story from three years ago, it made me want to call you, but you called me first, a happy coincidence I guess,” Akko said. 

“I was actually telling Tenya about how I was the leader of a group in junior high called The Devils and I was reminded of you. He was actually the one who told me to call you,” Tsubasa said. 

“How did you get my number anyway? I got my phone from my old professor’s Modern Magic class,” Akko said. 

“Tenya is really good with technology, he found your number,” Tsubasa said. 

“Oh, okay,” Akko said. 

“Save my number, call you later,” Tsubasa said. 

“Okay, I will, call you later, Tsubasa,” Akko said. 

“Bye, Akko, Diana,” Tsubasa said. 

“Bye, Tsubasa,” Akko said. 

Tsubasa hung up and Akko put her phone back in her pocket. 

“You seriously made a bet with your bully turned friend that I would be your soulmate?” Diana asked, crossing her arms indignantly. 

“Yeah and now I owe him four hundred dollars, which I have no idea how to obtain,” Akko said, looking at The Soulmate Tree pensively. 

“Akko, I love you, but sometimes you’re just a little too much,” Diana said, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“I know,” Akko said, with a smile, leaning to lay her head on Diana’s lap. 

Before she could, Diana pushed her head back up. 

“We need to go, it’s getting late,” Diana said, looking at the sunset. 

“Oh, yeah, let’s go back,” Akko said. 

They cleaned up their stuff and flew back to Luna Nova. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This story will probably be less frequently updated than The Mysterious Glow of a Murderer was, but I'll try to have weekly or every other week posts, on the same days, either Tuesday or Saturday, more likely Saturday, just like The Witch House.


	2. Cavendish and Strongsburg See Each Other Once Again

Diana was walking in the hallway, holding some books in her hands to her chest. She was walking aimlessly when she accidentally bumped into another student. 

“Hey! Watch it!” the other student cried out. 

“Sorry,” Diana apologized. 

The other student glanced up to see Diana looking at her with a confused expression. 

“Diana Cavendish?” the other student asked. 

“Juliet Strongburg?” Diana asked. 

“You go to Luna Nova?” Juliet said. 

“Yes, I’m a third-year student,” Diana said. 

Akko walked up to them. 

“Hey, Diana, who’s this?” Akko asked, looking at Juliet. 

“My former childhood friend, Juliet Strongsburg,” Diana said with a grimace. 

“Oh, don’t be like that, Diana, I see you’re wearing your necklace again,” Juliet said. 

“So what? You’re going to attempt to steal it again? Remember what happened the first time you tried?” Diana asked, clearly frustrated. 

Akko put a hand on her shoulder and she visibly relaxed, she turned to her and gave her a soft smile, which was returned with a wider one. Juliet looked between the two of them and blinked in realization. 

“This girl’s your soulmate? That’s honestly hard to believe,” Juliet scoffed. 

“Tough talk coming from someone who doesn’t even have one,” Akko shot back. 

“Spunky, I like that, what’s your name?” Juliet asked. 

“Atsuko Kagari, I go by Akko,” she said. 

“Okay, Akko, if there’s one thing you should know it’s…” Juliet trailed off. 

“That she absolutely despises soulmates,” Diana finished, shooting Juliet a glare. 

“Oh, I wasn’t going to say _that_ , are you really that bitter?” Juliet asked. 

“You know how much it takes to break my will,” Diana said. 

“It seems the one next to you broke it a long time ago,” Juliet teased. 

“Only since I first met her in the café,” Diana teased back. 

“Huh, you can be witty too, good to note,” Juliet said. 

“How did you two meet?” Akko asked. 

“At primary school, back when I still lived at my estate,” Diana said. 

“Do you still hate your aunt?” Juliet asked. 

“She gets on my nerves almost as much as you do,” Diana said, keeping a neutral face but balling her hands into fists. 

“I didn’t peg you as the type of person to hold a grudge, I guess I was wrong,” Juliet said. 

“You stole two of the most important things in my possession behind my back, you don’t expect me to be mad?” Diana asked. 

“Your necklaces? Wow! I thought you were smarter than that, turns out you’re just naïve,” Juliet said. 

This struck a nerve in both of the witches standing in front of her. 

“How dare you!” Akko yelled out. 

“What did I say? Your necklace must be important to you if my statement got your nerves that much,” Juliet said. 

“You don’t know the half of it,” Akko said. 

“I thought you didn't care about your necklace after your parents died, didn’t you say that their strong connection is what brought their demise?” Juliet asked. 

“You of all people have no right to talk about my parents like that, especially after what you did,” Diana said. 

“I’m sorry, I don’t follow,” Juliet said, playing dumb. 

She knew exactly what she did and held no remorse whatsoever. 

“Stop playing dumb with me, you know exactly what you did,” Diana said, stepping closer, pointing an accusatory finger at Juliet’s chest. 

“It seems the rock is mightier than the sword,” Juliet smirked. 

“Don’t get me started,” Diana said. 

“Or what? You’re going to shoot me with magic?” Juliet laughed heartily. 

Diana grabbed her wand, signaling that that was her exact intention. 

“Oh, you’re on Cavendish,” Juliet said, also grabbing her wand. 

“If you think I’ll back down you have another thing coming, Strongsburg,” Diana said. 

“ **Murowa,”** they both cast in unison. 

A string of magic came out of both their wands, meeting in the middle, trying to overpower one another to take the other caster down. They both started to lose control as the magic coming out of their wands were too strong for them. Other students walking in the hallway stopped to see what was going on. 

“Is that Diana? Who is she fighting?” a student asked. 

“I think that’s the fourth-year transfer student Juliet Strongburg,” another student replied. 

Akko grabbed onto Diana’s wand to help her control it. 

“Not fair!” Juliet shouted. 

“What? I never told her to help me,” Diana said. 

They both stepped closer to Juliet and she stumbled back, she could no longer control her magic and dropped her wand, conceding. Diana put her wand back in her ribbon. 

“That teaches you not to mess with Rank 19,” Akko said. 

“You’re rank 19? That’s even harder to believe,” Juliet scoffed again. 

“No, I’m rank 343, I’m talking about my soulmate,” Akko said. 

“Impressive,” Juliet said. 

“Only because we took down Madison Clive,” Diana said. 

“You took down former Rank 8 and you’re saying ‘only’? You were always modest,” Juliet said. 

“And _you_ were always backhanded, manipulative, and too confident in your abilities,” Diana listed off. 

Headmistress Holbrooke walked up. 

“What happened here?” she asked. 

“Ms. Cavendish here thought it was okay to start a fight with me,” Juliet said, giving her a taunting smile. 

“Is this true?” Headmistress Holbrooke asked. 

“Why you,” Diana said, waving her hands, looking like she was about to strangle Juliet. 

“Well?” Headmistress Holbrooke prompted again. 

“Yes,” Diana conceded, bowing her head in defeat. 

“Are you sure? Ms. Strongsburg here is known for her continued defiance of the rules, she’s even worse than Ms. O’Neill,” Professor Finnelan chimed as she also walked up. 

“For what? Stealing other student’s necklaces? How bad is that?” Juliet asked, crossing her arms in defiance. 

“Managing to steal a person’s necklace and breaking two soulmates’ connection with each other is a punishable offense with up to fifty years in prison, with no chance at parole,” Croix chimed over the phone as Professor Ursula also walked up to them. 

“Ah, Professor Chariot, and is that Ms. Meridies on the phone?” Juliet asked. 

“That’s Professor Ursula to you, only a select few can call me Chariot,” she said. 

“I’m Mrs. Meridies, please address me correctly,” she said. 

“Really? Congratulations!” Akko exclaimed. 

“Thank you, Akko,” Croix said. 

“You’re married?” Juliet asked. 

“Yes, not like that’s any of your concern though, Ms. Strongsburg,” Croix said. 

“Wait, when did that happen Ursula?” Professor Finnelan asked. 

“Over the summer,” Professor Ursula and Croix answered in unison. 

“How? Did the Ministry give you permission?” Professor Finnelan asked. 

“Yep! I only have one more year left of probation before I can actually work freely in The Modern Magic Department,” Croix said. 

“That’s great! Feel free to visit any time, you can even have your job as The Modern Magic professor back, if you want,” Headmistress Holbrooke said. 

“That’s very kind of you Headmistress, but I’m still working on a cure to The Wagandea Curse, I’m afraid I can’t return to Luna Nova until I find it,” Croix said. 

“I understand, but the offer still stands,” Headmistress Holbrooke said. 

“Thank you, I will remember that,” Croix said. 

“I will reiterate, Ms. Cavendish, are you sure you started the fight?” Professor Finnelan asked. 

“Yes, I let what she said get to me,” Diana said. 

“I understand, just don’t let it happen again,” Headmistress Holbrooke said. 

“You’re just letting her go?” Juliet asked, dumbfounded. 

“She’s the top student in the school, from what I heard it seems like you provoked her, and you agreed, did you not?” Headmistress Holbrooke asked. 

“Yes, but that’s only because…” Juliet trailed off, unable to come up with a reason. 

“Because what Ms. Strongsburg?” Professor Finnelan prompted. 

“Because, I-, nothing, Professor,” Juliet said. 

“That’s what I thought, now get where you need to go,” Professor Finnelan instructed. 

Juliet was about to walk away but before she did she shot Diana a death stare, they held eye contact for a few seconds before she ultimately walked away in the other direction out to the courtyard. During their magic battle, Diana dropped her books, so she bent down to pick them up again, when she stood back up, she looked over to see Akko flushed red. 

“Are you okay Akko?” Diana asked. 

“I- yeah, I’m fine,” Akko stuttered, trying to get a grip of her words. 

“Are you sure? You’re red,” Diana pointed out. 

“Oh, I hadn’t noticed,” Akko said sarcastically under her breath. 

“I’m fine,” Akko said a little louder this time. 

“If you say so,” Diana said, walking away to the library. 

_“Get a grip Kagari, you’ve seen her with less on before, why is that you’re so flustered now?”_ she thought, smacking her cheeks with her palms. 

“There’s our favorite idiot,” Amanda said, smacking an arm across her back. 

“Not mine,” Sucy said. 

“Sucy!” Lotte chastised again. 

“What?” Sucy asked, shrugging. 

Akko turned around to face them. 

“Oh, hey guys,” Akko greeted. 

“So, why the hell were you smacking your face for?” Sucy asked. 

“It’s nothing, let’s go,” Akko said. 

The others wanted to say more but they refrained and walked to the café, they had dinner, and went back to their dorms. 

“So, are you ever going to tell us how your necklace is the reason you’re standing here today?” Lotte asked. 

“I guess this is as good a time as any,” Akko said. 

She started telling the story she told to Diana yesterday of how she befriended her former bully and how one of them threatened to carve into her necklace and how it created a flash which saved her. 

“Wow! I didn’t think it was that serious,” Sucy said. 

“Now do you understand why my necklace is so important to me?” Akko asked. 

“Yes. Let’s hope this new student, Juliet Strongsburg, doesn’t steal it from you,” Sucy said. 

“Yeah, Sucy’s right, Juliet has a record of stealing necklaces,” Lotte said. 

Akko just nodded and laid down on her bed, Lotte turned off the lights and they went to bed. 


	3. The Prime Suspect

Akko sat up in bed and felt at her neck, noticing her necklace was missing. She felt underneath her sheets to see if it accidentally came off her neck in her sleep, but it wasn’t there, she got out of bed and checked her dresser and drawers to see if it was somehow there. The opening and closing of the drawers woke up Lotte and Sucy. 

“Akko? What happened?” Lotte asked, rubbing her eyes and putting her glasses back on to see her better. 

“My necklace is missing,” Akko said, scared, digging through the drawers, scattering clothes all over the floor. 

“Are you sure you didn’t take it off by accident?” Sucy asked, in her usual snarky voice, even this early in the morning. 

“No! I never take it off, you should know this by now,” Akko said, frantically pacing the room in any hopes of finding it. 

“Don’t worry, we’ll find it, I’ll help you look,” Lotte said, getting down from the top bunk. 

“Thanks,” Akko said. 

They scoured the room but no luck. 

“It’s not here,” Akko said. 

“I’m sorry, do you know someone who could’ve taken it?” Lotte asked. 

“I don’t know, maybe I can ask Diana,” Akko said. 

“You think your soulmate of all people would take your necklace?” Sucy asked skeptically. 

“No, but it doesn’t hurt to ask,” Akko said. 

Akko put on her uniform and walked into the hallway, where she saw the taller girl wearing a blue ribbon around her waist, walking with her teammates. Akko ran up to her, making sure not to trip this time and tapped on her shoulder to get her attention. She stopped and turned around. 

“Akko? What is it?” Diana asked. 

“Did you happen to take my necklace?” Akko asked. 

“No! Why would you even accuse me of doing something like that? I know how much it means to you and besides, if I wanted to see your necklace, I can just look in the mirror,” Diana said. 

“Then who stole it?” Akko asked. 

“I don’t know, but I have a sneaking suspicion who,” Diana said. 

“Who?” Akko asked. 

“Juliet Strongsburg,” Diana said. 

“The fourth-year transfer and your former childhood friend that you fought yesterday?” Akko asked. 

“Yes, she’s notorious for stealing other student’s necklaces,” Diana said. 

“Lotte _did_ say that she has a record for stealing necklaces,” Akko pondered, rubbing her chin. 

“If anyone were to steal your necklace, it would be her, she’s the prime suspect,” Diana said. 

“It seems a little too simple, doesn’t it?” Akko asked. 

“Sometimes simple is the best option,” Diana said. 

“I feel like there’s more that we’re missing,” Akko said. 

“Trust me when I say this, Juliet is not someone you want to get involved with,” Diana said. 

“I trust you, but I just feel like there’s more,” Akko said. 

“What’s there more to say? Juliet has gotten expelled from seven magic academies in the past for stealing other student’s necklaces,” Hannah chimed. 

“I can’t even believe Diana was friends with her before,” Barbara said. 

“What are you not telling me?” Akko asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“I admit I’ve not been entirely honest, I’ll be sure to tell you everything Akko, just not right now,” Diana said. 

“I won’t ever force you to do something if you’re uncomfortable, just tell me when you’re ready,” Akko reassured, flashing a wide grin. 

“Thank you,” Diana said. 

“No worries,” Akko said. 

They walked to class in comfortable silence. 

* * *

Juliet stood in her dorm with a smirk as Akko’s necklace appeared in her hands. She gripped the chain in her fingers and let it dangle down. She held the half a Chariot card in her open palm, admiring it. 

“This is déjà vu if I’ve ever felt it,” Juliet said to herself. 

Suddenly, her phone started ringing, she answered it and heard an all familiar voice to her. 

“Have you gotten it?” her boss, Fei An asked. 

“Yes, I have, sir,” Juliet said, looking at it. 

“I knew I could trust you, Juliet,” Fei An said. 

“Anything for a member of the most powerful family of the world, who so happens to be my boss,” Juliet said. 

“I know I hired the right person, I’m glad you're working with us,” Fei An said. 

“Me too, I’m glad to be working with you and other like-minded people at The England branch of Citizens Against Soulmates International,” Juliet said. 

“And we’re glad to have you, make sure you bring the necklace to the branch in the coming days, we’ll check it,” Fei An said.

“Okay, bye, Mr. Fei,” Juliet said. 

“Bye, Juliet,” Fei An said and then hung up. 

Juliet flopped down on her bed, letting her legs dangle off the end as she admired her newly acquired necklace once more. 

“I got you now, Cavendish,” Juliet mused to herself. 

“I have the one thing your dear soulmate holds closest to her heart,” Juliet voiced her thoughts aloud. 

She got up and put the necklace in a box on her desk, she keeps all the necklaces she steals in that box and somehow no one has ever decided to look at what she keeps in there, that’s lucky for her though, because no one seems to find out her intention until near the end of the year. Her doomsday, however, always seems to be April 18th, without fail, that’s the day she always gets caught, and the next day she gets expelled, just to go to another school and repeat the same process over again. She always gets asked, “Isn’t it tiring?”, to which she responds with a simple “No.” She liked working with CASI, she found it several years ago, it was a place she felt like she belonged. She was always a loner and castaway, so working with a like-minded group like CASI was her outlet, her access to the world, she loved the feeling of being a part of something. 

“How is that I’ve now seen the same necklace twice in a lifetime?” Juliet asked herself. 

She heard a knock on the door. She groaned and got back up. 

“Who could it possibly be at this hour?” Juliet asked before opening the door to reveal the witch she just stole the necklace from. 

“Let me cut to the chase, have you seen my necklace?” Akko asked. 

_“Of course, suspect the girl famous for it first, figures,”_ Juliet thought. 

“Sorry, no I haven’t,” Juliet lied. 

“Okay, sorry to bother you, see you around,” Akko said, before waving goodbye and walking away, hunched over and dejected. 

Juliet closed the door and sat back down on her bed. 

“She looked so sad, almost makes me feel bad for her, _almost_ ,” Juliet emphasized to herself as she traced shapes in the air with her fingers. 

She felt herself soon get bored with that and her eyelids felt heavy. She laid back and by the time her head hit the pillow she was fast asleep.


	4. Time To Tell The Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes dialogue from chapter 2 and chapter 22 of The Glow of Their Necklaces, just a warning. Yesterday was my birthday and I wanted to finish writing the chapter, so enjoy.

Diana was sitting in the library and looked at her books, deep in thought, reminiscing about the past. She was sitting in her room, fiddling with her necklace, trying to take it off to put in the box with her parent’s necklaces and her Chariot card. She took the card out of the box and admired it. 

_ “I wish I can give this to someone special someday,”  _ Diana said to herself.

She heard a knock on the door and she put her card back in the box before answering it, it was Anna. 

_ “Lady Diana, Are you okay?”  _ Anna asked. 

_ “Yes, I’m fine, do you need something Anna?”  _ Diana asked. 

_ “Lady Strongsburg is here to see you,”  _ Anna said. 

_ “I’ll be right there Anna, thank you,”  _ Diana said. 

Diana took her necklace off and put it in the box, she closed the box and put it on the shelf next to her teddy bear, she petted her teddy bear before leaving the room and walking back downstairs. She saw Juliet standing in the middle of the hallway. 

_ “Not wearing your necklace, I see,”  _ Juliet said. 

_ “What’s it to you? It’s not like you ever wear yours,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “You know I don’t believe in that kind of thing, Diana,”  _ Juliet said. 

_ “You know, for someone who’s older than me, you seem a lot less mature,”  _ Diana said. 

Juliet put her hands to her heart and tilted her head in offense. 

_ “I’m just going to ignore that one,”  _ Juliet said. 

_ “So why are you here?”  _ Diana asked. 

_ “I can’t see my childhood friend?”  _ Juliet asked. 

_ “You haven’t talked to me in over a year and now you suddenly want to?”  _ Diana asked doubtfully. 

_ “Yes, is that so wrong?”  _ Juliet asked. 

_ “I feel like you’re up to something,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “Oh, nothing of the sort,”  _ Juliet said. 

_ “You really just want to talk to me?”  _ Diana asked. 

_ “Yeah, I heard about your parents, I’m so sorry for your loss, I can’t imagine how that must feel,”  _ Juliet said. 

_ “I don’t need your pity,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “You were always so modest,”  _ Juliet said. __

_ “Please don’t be like that with me,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “Like what?”  _ Juliet asked. 

_ “Like everything is fine,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “What do you mean?” _ Juliet asked. __

_ “You’re acting like nothing happened,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “I apologize, I’m afraid I have no idea what you’re talking about,”  _ Juliet said. 

_ “Of course you do, please leave now,”  _ Diana said, pointing to the door. 

Juliet reluctantly left and Diana went back to her room. 

* * *

Diana looked in her box and noticed that her necklaces were missing. 

_ “Who could’ve taken them?”  _ Diana asked herself. 

She grabbed her teddy bear and brought it up to her face, starting to sob. 

_ “That was all I had left,”  _ Diana said, as tears streamed down her face. 

She collapsed to her knees on the hardwood floor. She lost the one thing she had left of her parents besides her teddy bear, she could care less about losing her own. 

_ “Why?”  _ Diana asked herself as she wiped her tears away. 

She got up, dusted herself off, put her teddy bear back on her table, and went to bed. 

* * *

_ “It was you?!”  _ Diana shouted at Juliet. 

_ “So what if it was?”  _ Juliet asked, shrugging. 

Diana took out her wand. She shot  **Murowa** but Juliet countered it. 

_ “What’s all this high and mightiness coming from someone who doesn’t even wear her necklace? And yet decides to steal other’s, _ " Diana said, pointing accusingly at her. 

_ "For your information, I don't wear it because I don't care about silly things like soulmates, they're a waste of time, and my true goal is beyond simply stealing,”  _ Juliet said. 

Diana shot another spell and this one caught Juliet off guard knocking her off her feet. Diana, although being younger, pointed her wand at Juliet who was sitting on the ground, and asserted dominance over her. 

_ “That’s what you get when you decide to mess with a Cavendish,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “You think I’m scared?”  _ Juliet scoffed. 

_ “Far from it, but if you don’t give me back my necklaces, I can make you end up like Juliet from The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet,”  _ Diana threatened. 

_ “You would never do something like that,”  _ Juliet said. 

_ “You don’t know how far I’ll go to defend what I hold dear,”  _ Diana said. 

Juliet cast a spell and made Diana’s necklaces appear in her hand. 

_ “Here,”  _ Juliet said as she handed them back to their rightful owner. 

_ “Thank you,”  _ Diana said. 

“ _ At least I know when to back down,”  _ Juliet said, getting back up as Diana put her wand away. 

She took her leave and Diana put the necklaces back in her box. 

* * *

_ “Welcome to Luna Nova, Ms. Cavendish,”  _ Headmistress Holbrooke said. 

_ “Thank you, Headmistress,”  _ Diana said, bowing, before walking to her dorm. 

She walked into the dorm and saw an auburn-haired girl sitting at her desk studying and a black-haired girl sitting on her bed reading a book. They glanced up at her. 

_ “Hello,” _ Diana greeted. 

_ “Hey, my name is Hannah England,”  _ she said. __

_ “And my name is Barbara Parker,”  _ she said. 

_ “Nice to meet you, I’m Diana Cavendish, treat me well,” _ she said, bowing her head. __

_ “Wow! It’s such an honor for us to have you on our team,”  _ Hannah said. 

_ “A member of The Six Great Houses, let alone a Cavendish is on our team? That’s the greatest honor I could ever receive,”  _ Barbara said. 

_ “Thank you, I’m glad you think so highly of me,”  _ Diana said. 

She unpacked her stuff and conversed with her team, getting to know them better, before it eventually got late and they had to go to bed. 

* * *

Diana walked up to a certain Atsuko Kagari in the café. 

_ "Miss Kagari is it? You're new here right, " _ Diana said.

_ "Anyway, Shiny Chariot's is a has-been, her magic is nothing more than cheap parlor tricks, " _ she continued. 

_ "Just call me Akko, You're the one who read the letters on the board, earlier, right? "  _ Akko asked as she swallowed her food. 

_ "You really don't know who Diana is?"  _ Hannah asked. 

_ "She is a witch from a well-known and renowned family, the heiress to the Cavendish’s,"  _ Barbara said. 

Diana looked at Akko’s necklace, it was glowing eerily bright so she couldn't quite make it out, but it was exactly like the other half of the one she had at home. 

_ “This girl is my soulmate?”  _ Diana thought. 

_ "Well anyway, you shouldn't look up to her, " _ Diana said. 

_ "What did you say?"  _ Akko asked as she got up and walked towards her. 

_ "I said, you shouldn't look up to Shiny Chariot, " _ she repeated. 

_ "Chariot was a great witch and I can look up to whoever I want, plus what’s all this high and mightiness coming from someone who doesn’t even wear her necklace, " _ Akko said, pointing to her neck. 

Diana noticed that Akko said the same words to her that she had said to Juliet. 

_ "For your information, I don't wear it because I don't care about silly things like soulmates, they're a waste of time, "  _ She said pointing back at Akko, invoking the same words that Juliet said to her years ago. 

Akko got closer and lunged toward her. Lotte got up to try and break them up, but couldn’t. Akko kept trying to have a go at Diana, but she just kept evading her, and eventually, Akko fell forward, but surprisingly Diana had caught her and brought her back to a standing position. 

_ "You didn't let me fall, " _ Akko said, dumbfounded. 

_ "I might think you're not worth my time, but the Cavendish's believe in saving everyone, friend or foe, "  _ she said. 

_ "Well, thank you, " _ Akko said, going back to sit down. 

_ "Wait, "  _ Diana said, grabbing her wrist. 

_ "What?" _ Akko asked, turning back around. 

_ “Why do you believe in soulmates?” _ Diana asked.

_ “Why is that any of your concern?” _ Akko shot back. 

_ “It’s nothing, just forget it,” _ Diana said, shaking her head. 

_ "Okay, then, let me go," _ Akko said. 

Diana let go of her and they both walked back to their own tables. 

* * *

_ “Thank you,”  _ Akko said. __

_ “Why do you keep thanking me for? I really didn’t do anything to constitute thanks,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “I just feel like that’s what I should say, I was such a jerk to you in the beginning but you still helped me, I don’t know what I did to deserve the kindness you’ve given me,”  _ Akko said. 

_ “You convinced me to come back to Luna Nova, you saved me from Daryl’s snake, you comforted me after I told you about my parents, you taught me that soulmates are not actually a waste of time, should I go on?”  _ Diana asked. 

_ “But you came back for me after I saved you, you helped me find the fifth word, you saved me when I fell off the Shooting Star and still went on to win that race, you taught me the importance of being myself, that I shouldn’t strive to be like someone else. You know why I thought of you as my rival?”  _ Akko asked. 

_ “No, why?”  _ Diana asked. 

_ “Because you were at the top, standing on this unattainable pedestal, with your last name, perfect grades, beautiful magic abilities. How I wished to be in that position, but then, I learned that you worked just as hard to get to that position, you might not control your family name, but you proved that you are worthy of that. Diana Cavendish, you deserve all the thanks in the world and more, so stop being so humble and modest, even though that's one of the things I love about you, and accept it,”  _ Akko said.

_ “You think my magic is beautiful?”  _ Diana asked. 

Akko lifted her head and looked at her. 

_ “As beautiful as you are,”  _ Akko said, grabbing Diana’s hands. 

Diana felt her cheeks heat up. 

_ “You know why I never thought of you as my rival?”  _ Diana asked. 

_ “I’ve been meaning to ask,”  _ Akko said. __

_ “Well, at first, I thought you were nothing more than a bumbling idiot who couldn’t use magic for the life of her, who proclaimed that she wanted to be like Shiny Chariot but had no ability to back it up, but then when I saw you with the Shiny Rod and the Pappiliodya, I realized you have more potential than I originally thought, and then you proved me wrong even further at the Samhain Festival, then again at my estate. Atsuko Kagari, you’re just full of surprises and you don’t deserve anyone calling you an idiot with no ability, because I’m pretty sure you just proved the whole world wrong. You’re beautiful too, you might not be at my level of magic ability, but your metamorphosis magic is like none other,” Diana said.  _

_ “Wow, the Diana Cavendish is saying my metamorphosis magic is like none other, I must be dreaming,” _ Akko chuckled. 

_ “I’m serious, I don’t think I could ever do metamorphosis magic to the level that you did earlier,”  _ Diana said. 

Akko didn’t say anything but she moved closer and finally closed the distance between them, she pressed her lips against hers and she kissed her back, it was only for a few seconds but it felt like forever, not like either of them minded that though. 

_ “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean…”  _ Akko apologized. __

Diana put a finger to Akko’s lips. 

_ “It’s okay, you don’t have to apologize, I’m your soulmate, you don’t have to apologize for wanting to kiss me,”  _ Diana said. 

_ “Is that permission to do it again?”  _ Akko asked. 

_ “As much as you would like,”  _ Diana said. 

So Akko took that and kissed her again. 

* * *

“Diana,” someone called to her. 

She could faintly recognize who it was. 

“Diana,” the voice tried again. 

Who was calling out to her? 

“Diana!” the voice yelled out in another attempt, waving their hand in her face. 

She clearly recognized the voice this time and shook her head to wake herself from the trip down memory lane she was having. 

“Are you okay? You were spaced out there,” Akko said. 

“Yes, I’m fine, just remembering the past,” Diana said. 

“What about the past?” Akko asked, intrigued. 

“Just about Juliet, and you,” Diana said. 

“Me, huh?” Akko teased. 

“Oh hush, I was just comparing when we first met to when we shot down that missile,” Diana said. 

“Yeah, a lot happened our first year, that was a time. So what about Juliet?” Akko asked. 

“I guess there’s no use in keeping it from you anymore,” Diana said. 

Akko sat down next to her and looked attentively at her as she told the story of how her and Juliet met, how they drifted apart, and when she stole her necklaces. 

“I can’t believe she would do something like that,” Akko said. 

“She betrayed my trust and then came back seeking it again, only to steal my necklaces behind my back,” Diana said. 

“That’s so underhanded,” Akko said. 

“Tell me about it,” Diana said. 

“I don’t think I need to,” Akko said. 

“So… did you talk to Juliet yesterday?” Diana asked. 

“Yeah, I asked her if she stole my necklace and she said no,” Akko said. 

“She’s lying,” Diana said insistently. 

“How do you know?” Akko asked. 

“I know how much she likes to feign ignorance and act like nothing’s wrong and that she did nothing, she might be a good actor, but don’t let something like that fool you, once someone starts they can’t stop, Juliet started stealing necklaces and now she’s obsessed, I don’t know how else to say this, but just trust me,” Diana said. 

“I don't think this needs to be said, but I trust you completely, I believe you, who else would have a motive besides Juliet,” Akko said. 

“I don’t know, but I feel like she’s working with someone else,” Diana said. 

“Like who?” Akko asked. 

“She told me once that her true motive was beyond just stealing, which implies there’s something bigger at play here,” Diana said. 

“Do you think it’s one person or a group of people?” Akko asked. 

“Most likely a group, it’s hard to believe she’s only doing this with one other person,” Diana said. 

“Is there like an organization against soulmates or something?” Akko asked. 

“I thought you would already know about the existence of Citizens Against Soulmates International, but I guess not,” Diana said. 

“Oh, yeah, I’ve heard of them, but I’m well versed in soulmates themselves, not who’s against them,” Akko said. 

“That’s understandable, given that you’re very supportive of soulmates and CASI stands for everything you’re against,” Diana said. 

“Do you know who the leader is?” Akko asked. 

“No, but I think it’s probably a Fei, a lot of Fei's don’t hold the same beliefs,” Diana said. 

“What? I mean it makes sense, but why?” Akko asked. 

“Many Fei’s are outwardly against their family’s principles and rebel against them, it’s possible that one of them had enough of a disdain to create an organization for other people who despise soulmates as well, just to feel like a part of something,” Diana said. 

“How can people be proud of that?” Akko asked. 

“I mean Juliet is pretty proud of that,” Diana reasoned. 

“I just don’t understand why,” Akko said. 

“Me neither, but that’s how some people are, I’m sure they have their reasons,” Diana said. 

“But from what you told me, it seems as though Juliet has no logical reason for stealing,” Akko said. 

“Eh, some people are just hateful for the sake of being hateful, they just want to be devious with no true reason in mind, but I guess even the truly evil people still have their reasons,” Diana said. 

“I mean, even if it’s petty, Madison Clive killed Professor Wellard because she didn’t accept him, so I guess,” Akko said. 

“See, everyone has their reasons, no matter how petty or stupid they may be,” Diana said. 

“I guess that’s true, now what were you studying before your mind wandered off?” Akko asked. 

“Uh, surprisingly, Astronomy,” Diana said. 

Akko sat down next to her and got out her notebook. 

“Okay, let’s work together then,” Akko said, smiling. 

Diana just nodded, showing a soft smile herself, and they studied together before they eventually had to go back to their dorms. 


End file.
